So, I was talking to my Dad and he said I was old enough to start doing weights. I don't really know what to do. Could anyone give a hand as to what exercises to do? I'm not thinking specifically tennis, I just want to build a base strenght and flexibility at first. I'll be using the gym of a local rugby club so there won't be any trainer there or anyone to tell me what to do. I know it's not ideal but it's the easiest for me untill I can drive (18 months). I have to lose a bit of weight as well so I was thinking that I should work that off before I put on any muscle. Is that the right thing to do?

No need to drop weight before starting stength training. In my personal expericence combining the two helped me drop weight faster than just cardio or just weight lifting alone.

1. Do some research - you should be able to find some good books on building a training program at a library. Look for a book that focuses on strength training (since that is your goal) and not body building.

2. Start with a lighter weight and build good form before going heavy to avoid injury. A guideline I've heard is to choise a weight where the 10th rep is difficult.

3. Focus on compound lifts (lifts that work multiple muscle groups - squats, deadlifts, pull-ups, bench press, etc.). You'll gain more strength doing things like pull-ups which work the back and include the bicepts, rather than spending 15 minutes doing curls. You can throw in the curls, but they shouldn't be the focus.

4. Don't forget to work your legs as hard or harder than your upper body. Alot of guys only work the upper body and ignore the legs which contain the largest group of muscles in the body. You'll benefit more from strong legs in tennis than having huge arms.

5. Eat right - if you are looking to drop weight you need to think about what you are eating. Lean protiens, fresh fruit, fresh veggies, and complex carbs (whole wheat breads, etc.) are best.

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Ludacris: My chick bad! Tell me if you seen her. She always brings the racket like Venus and Serena!

No need to drop weight before starting stength training. In my personal expericence combining the two helped me drop weight faster than just cardio or just weight lifting alone.

1. Do some research - you should be able to find some good books on building a training program at a library. Look for a book that focuses on strength training (since that is your goal) and not body building.

2. Start with a lighter weight and build good form before going heavy to avoid injury. A guideline I've heard is to choise a weight where the 10th rep is difficult.

3. Focus on compound lifts (lifts that work multiple muscle groups - squats, deadlifts, pull-ups, bench press, etc.). You'll gain more strength doing things like pull-ups which work the back and include the bicepts, rather than spending 15 minutes doing curls. You can throw in the curls, but they shouldn't be the focus.

4. Don't forget to work your legs as hard or harder than your upper body. Alot of guys only work the upper body and ignore the legs which contain the largest group of muscles in the body. You'll benefit more from strong legs in tennis than having huge arms.

5. Eat right - if you are looking to drop weight you need to think about what you are eating. Lean protiens, fresh fruit, fresh veggies, and complex carbs (whole wheat breads, etc.) are best.

Seconded on basically everything he said

a good site for information and such is stronglifts.com

it has a bunch of articles on diet, how to do exercises with good form

Okay guys, had a look at that site. That 5x5 looks good, except I'll only be getting to the gym once a week for the next few months because of school etc, maybe twice some weeks. So is this still the best option or would something else be better suited to me? Thanks again guys.

Don't be macho and hurt yourself. If the girl next to you is lifting more weight, so be it. Learn about proper form and work at it. It's really stupid to go into the gym to get into better shape and then hurt yourself and not be able to workout for weeks.

So, I was talking to my Dad and he said I was old enough to start doing weights. I don't really know what to do. Could anyone give a hand as to what exercises to do? I'm not thinking specifically tennis, I just want to build a base strenght and flexibility at first. I'll be using the gym of a local rugby club so there won't be any trainer there or anyone to tell me what to do. I know it's not ideal but it's the easiest for me untill I can drive (18 months). I have to lose a bit of weight as well so I was thinking that I should work that off before I put on any muscle. Is that the right thing to do?

Thanks a million for any advice guys, really appreciate it.

64 kgs and you need to lose wegiht?

Im around 5'7 and 66 kgs and I look 'skinny'. But I lift alot of weights so dunno.

If you can only get to the gym once a week, at least two (and preferably three) other days a week you should be doing the "thrower's ten" to help prevent shoulder, elbow and wrist injuries as you get stronger and exert ever greater forces bashing the ball: www.asmi.org/SportsMed/media/thrower10.swf You can pick up elastic tubing and dumbells at any sporting goods store, and even Walm*rt.

Im around 5'7 and 66 kgs and I look 'skinny'. But I lift alot of weights so dunno.

I'm not overweight, but I look a small bit 'fat'. My initial intentions were to lose the weight in fat and put it back on in muscle so that's why I wanted to lose weight. But you guys said it's better to do both at the same time.

If you can only get to the gym once a week, at least two (and preferably three) other days a week you should be doing the "thrower's ten" to help prevent shoulder, elbow and wrist injuries as you get stronger and exert ever greater forces bashing the ball: www.asmi.org/SportsMed/media/thrower10.swf You can pick up elastic tubing and dumbells at any sporting goods store, and even Walm*rt.

Thanks for posting, once again I've got a mountain of homework to do so I'll have a look when I'm done. Thanks.

Okay guys, had a look at that site. That 5x5 looks good, except I'll only be getting to the gym once a week for the next few months because of school etc, maybe twice some weeks. So is this still the best option or would something else be better suited to me? Thanks again guys.

If you can only get to the gym once a week, it doens't hurt to do things that don't require equipment - push-ups, body weight squats, crunches, sprints, etc.

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Ludacris: My chick bad! Tell me if you seen her. She always brings the racket like Venus and Serena!

If you can only get to the gym once a week, it doens't hurt to do things that don't require equipment - push-ups, body weight squats, crunches, sprints, etc.

I'm guessing you mean like in between gym visits. My brothers ay have some equipment which I could use. Think they have some weights as well if they havent taken them to college. Barbell and adjustable dumbells if I recall. I'll have a look and let you know tomorrow. Once again THANKS SO MUCH FOR ALL THE HELP EVERYONE

Quote:

Originally Posted by AELTC

Got six weeks? Try the 100 pushups training program

Is that just 100 push-ups a day? Tried that before, actually 150, didn't work for me. Every week I'd have to take a day off because my stomach muscles were so sore and I couldn't do anything (if I got a cough- AGONY!!!)

I'm guessing you mean like in between gym visits. My brothers ay have some equipment which I could use. Think they have some weights as well if they havent taken them to college. Barbell and adjustable dumbells if I recall. I'll have a look and let you know tomorrow. Once again THANKS SO MUCH FOR ALL THE HELP EVERYONE

Is that just 100 push-ups a day? Tried that before, actually 150, didn't work for me. Every week I'd have to take a day off because my stomach muscles were so sore and I couldn't do anything (if I got a cough- AGONY!!!)

not exactly

its a 6 week program specifically to get people to be able to do 100 pushups in a set

If you have adjustable dumbells, you can mimic the standard bench press, military press and other lifts that are done with barbells. Don't be afraid to start with relatively low weights for lifts as you have to get used to the momentum generated by the dumbless. The prone or "bent over" row, and triceps extensions, as well as the dumbell work in the "thrower's ten are all exercises you can do at home in addition to your day in the gym.

Most on this site recommend working with free weights in the gym. But that requires good technique and spotters. At 15 getting started by using some of the "machines" that mimic lifting free weights is not a bad thing at all to build up a certain level of fitness.

A simple, but hard to do diet change, is to view all junk food and soda as essentially "poison" to you, to help drop that weight.

And tennis is largely a running game, so since you only have access to the gym once a week, doing some extra running to build up a better leg and cardiovascular base should be done.
Try not to just long distances, but get into high intensity interval (HIIT) workouts with either sprints or agility drills to build up the type of running you will need on the court.

And above you mentioned homework. School always comes first. You will make your mark in life off the court, even though tennis and working out will provide you with healthy and enjoyable breaks.

1. Going once a week is better than not going at all, so go.
2. As many have said, read a lot. Read as much as you can.
3. I know this is hard at 15, but approach it as a lifetime thing. If you go too hard too soon, you'll injure yourself as others have said.
4. Form is everything. Everything. Good, strong, confident, non-cheating form is absolutely everything. As others have said, don't give a toss if an 8 year old girl next to you is lifting a truck and you're lifting an empty bar, focus on form. If you're lifting the empty bar with good form, that's all that matters.
5. Reps: Given you've never lifted, I'd be tempted to say to start with no fewer than sets of 15-20 for a 4-6 week adjustment phase. I'd say this to you even if you were going 2 or 3 times a week, so i'd go with 6 weeks at once at a minimum before going any lower. If you don't know enough about reps or failure when you're reading this, you need to read more before you walk in the gym. You'll spend the first few sessions working out what weights to use for what exercises. Looooots of material on the web, lots here too, try and read enough to learn what's good and bad. People here like "marius hancu" and "ano" can be trusted, there are others.
6. At your age, lifting and doing cardio will see any unwanted weight fall off you, teenage metabolism is something you can not buy.
7. Don't worry about things that make you take a day off a week (as you said with the pushup program), recovery is important, your body needs time to recover and grow from the workouts you challenge it with. Read more on this.
8. Incorporate core exercises into every session. Skip cardio, skip weights, skip chatting to the girl at reception, don't skip core work.
9. Do the shoulder strengthening / protective exercises that people have mentioned in this thread, or similar.
10. Did I mention form? You only get one body. Lift with good form and you'll do it for life, lift with poor form and you'll quit quickly.
11. Buy a training diary (can be any diary, small / pocket is great). Record every set you do, you'll quickly develop a shorthand.
12. Warmup for each exercise you do - or at least the first set for that muscle-group - use a weight that's maybe half of what you will lift.

...that comes to mind for now. On the whole - enjoy it, lifting is great for the body and for the mind.

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so self-aware / so full of ~~it / so indecisive / so adamant / i'm contemplating thinking about thinking / it's overrated / just get another drink in

If you don't work the same movement at least twice per week, you are not going to make much progress. If you only go to this gym once per week, you might as well find ways to workout without it.

I go once a week, with six days rest. I am stronger than ever with this method. Of course I am late 30's and require more down time after workouts. It usually takes two weeks before a person starts losing gains.

Also, no matter how much OP reads online, he needs someone with him to show proper form, esp. squats, dead lifts, back rows. Machines are best for form until someone can show you proper technique.